Tesco: NFC is "Past Its Sell-By Date"

Bad news for those who'd like to see NFC phone payments like Google Wallet actually take off in the UK. The Tesco retail juggernaut has basically said it's a load of crap, and that it's already out of date. It's just not "cool" enough, apparently.

Crapping all over NFC like Steve Jobs on Android, Tesco's enterprise consultant architect, Lyndon Lee, told a mobile payments conference that "NFC was revolutionary 10 years ago but I think it just might have passed its sell-by date". Ouch. According to the Grocer, Tesco is instead working on its own mobile phone payment system, which sounds just great, doesn't it?

Apart from contactless credit cards, which are an annoyance more often than not stacked in our wallets next to our access cards and other things, NFC payments hasn't really taken off in Britain. It's a crying shame too, because I'd love to be able to utilise that NFC chip in the back of my phone to pay for stuff. Then again, when retail giants like Tesco turn their collective noses up at it, it's no wonder NFC phone payments are basically still-born in the UK. [The Grocer]